The College Basketball AP Top 25 poll came out today and both the California Golden Bears and Stanford Cardinal are on the outside looking in as the Pac-12 goes three straight weeks without a team in the top 25.
Though Cal sits at 9-2 on the season, its subpar schedule and uneven play could be the primary reason for its continual fall after being ranked no. 24 after week 4. Cal's last three games were wins over San Jose State, Jackson State and Weber State and its only game against a ranked opponent this season was a 92-53 blowout loss to then-no. 21, now-no. 9 Missouri on a neutral site. Cal received five votes this week.
It's Stanford who could be next in line to join the rankings as they are the mythical 28th ranked team in the country after receiving 61 votes this week. The Cardinal are 9-1 and proved they could play with anybody in the country when they narrowly lost to Syracuse, 69-63, on Nov. 25. The Cardinal beat the University of San Diego, 75-55, on Dec. 17 and play Bethune-Cookman tonight.